Heat exchange apparatus



OC- 3, 1933 P. A. scHERER Er AL HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS Filed June 24,1930 3 Sheets-Sheet l PAU/ ,4.5'c/1'Eese. @eww/vf' E @a fr BY Mal/ZMATTORNEYS.

Oct. 3, 1933.

P. A. SCHERER El' AL HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS Filed June 24. 1930 3Sheets-Sheet 2 WW2/MW A TTORNE YS.

Oct. 3, 1933. P. A. scm-:RER Er AL HEAT EXCHANGE APPARATUS Filed June24, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 la r' S W W f ,a

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Patented Oct. 3, 1933 Y 1,928,912 HEAT EXCHANGEAPPARATUS Paul A.Scherer, VMedford, Oreg., and Grahame B. Ridley, San Francisco, Calif.,assignors toV Southern Oregon Sales, Inc., VMedford, Oreg., a

Y corporation of Oregon Application June 24, 1930.r sei-iai No. 463,542

7 claims. (c1. '261-103) This invention relates lgenerally to apparatusfor effecting contact between .gases and liquids, particularly for thepurpose of effecting an exchange of heat. Y

It is anY object of the present invention to generally improve uponapparatus of the above character whereby heat can be exchanged Vbetweenliquid and gas more eiiiciently,and whereby such apparatus can beconstructed and maintained a minimum of expense. l

It is a further objectA of the invention to devise a novel 'apparatus ofthe above character whereby air or other gas can be brought into contactwith av liquid'and conditioned. For example in one desirable applicationto Abe presently described air is heated by being brought into contactwith a heated chemical solution, and at the same time the air isconditioned as to its humidity.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the vfollowingdescription in which the preferred embodiments of the invention are setforth in detail in conjunction with accompanying drawings. It is to beunderstood that the appended claims are to be accordeda range ofequivalents consistent with the state of the prior art.

Referring to the drawings: n

Figure 1 is a side elevational view in cross section, illustrating -aheat exchange apparatus embodying principles of the presentinvention.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 2,-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an ,enlarged detail illustrating a part of the heat exchangeapparatus shownin Figs., 1 and 2.

Fig. 4 isa: cross sectional detail taken along the `line `4 4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a'system which canincorporate the apparatus of Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating a system which can alsoincorporate the apparatus o Figs. 1 to 4 in clusive.-f

Figs. 'l and 8 illustrate diagrammatically a sys- -tem for controllingthe ow of gas or air into r contact with a plurality of heat exchangeunits.

The various features of the invention can be bestV explained by firstdescribing the heat exchange apparatus illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4inclusive. Thus vwe have shown an enclosure formed by upperand lowerwalls 11 and 12, and `side walls 13, which serve to define a passageway14Yfor iiow of air or other gas. One end Aof passageway 14 is incommunication with a conduitor duct 16, thru which the air or other .gascan be introduced. `The other end of pas- "surfaces of itsVcorresponding member 22.

sageway 14 communicates with an exhaust duct .or conduit 17. Withinpassageway 14 we ar- ,range Vsheets of cloth together with means forcontinually maintaining these sheets saturated Ywith liquid, and thesecloths are arranged so as toaiford a large area for contact with the gaswith aV minimum of flow resistance.

In the specific form illustrated the parts with-- in passageway 14consist of a plurality of parallel spaced liquid delivery pipes 18,which preferably extend in ageneralhorizontal position as shown inFig. 1. 'Ihese pipes can rest upon suitable spaced cross bars or members21. For av purpose which will be presently explained, other Vmembers 22extend beneath the liquid de- 70 livery pipes 18, and preferably thesemembers 22 extend in a general horizontal direction parallel to pipes 18as shown in Fig.-1. Members 22 can be conveniently supported by crossmembers 21,

and in practice can be formed of wooden strips.

A plurality of strips 23 of suitable material which can be readilysaturated byv liquid, as for example canvas, are draped over the liquiddelivery pipes 18. These strips are draped in such a manner thatdepending loops are formed between 30 vadjacent liquid delivery pipes,thus forming cloth sheets 24 depending from' the side edges of eachmemberV 22. Sheets. 24 canv be isuitably tensionedby providing bars 26within each loop, and the end sheets of each strip 4can lbe simi- 85larlytensioned by bars 27.

' As shown more clearly in Fig. 4 each liquid delivery pipe v18 isprovided with Vsuitable slots or openings 28,' tovdeliver liquid to theupper 90 As shown in Fig. 3, cleats or equivalent members 29 can befastened upon members 22 adjacent the side edges of each-strip 23, solthat an -appreciable depth of liquid will be maintained upon `members 22between the cleats. It is apparent 95 `that this construction formsliquid troughs, each trough having two sides formed by the cloth str-ipsor equivalentporous material.

' *As shown in Fig. 1, for supplying liquid to 'pipes 18, these pipescan be connected with a 10 common header pipe 3l, which in turn isconnected to -the liquid supply pipes 32.- As liquid drips or runs ofiof the cloth strips, it can be collected upon the bottom Wall or floor12 and drained away thru pipe 33. lo

' In order to explain the mode of operation of the apparatus describedabove, it will be presumed that cold brine solution is being supplieding chamber or compartment.

.duidt The cold brine solution is delivered by pipes 18 to the uppersurfaces of members 22, and the upper portion of each depending sheet 24is therefore in intimate contact with a head of brine solutionmaintained between. members 29.. The. brine solution` is. thereforedelivered'- uniormly across the entire width of each sheet 24, so thatthe depending portion of the sheet is kept continuously and uniformlysaturated. The brine solurtion is prevented from running down betweenthe side edges of member 22 and the adjacent portions of sheet 24, whichmight. result inimproper saturation of the' sheets.,v both because ofthe fact that the sheets, are. tensione@ and, be-v cause thesey wetsheets adhere to the side edges of member 22. In fact the liquidisdelivered in a most eicient manner intoand thru thepores of the cloth.The air passing thru passagewayY 14 comes into intimate contact with theliquid with which:v the cloths; are: saturated. andibecause. oli therelatively large exposed areaof the liquid.. the brine solutioneiicienirly` absorbs: heat from the air.A Thefar; caarffiowithrupassageway L4i with relativelyl highvelocity, without disturbingtherciathV sheets, diie torthe fact. that; these vsheets arenominallytensibned Withfrcspectto V.they-floyvof a-irit should betnoted@ that. thev air owvcan be: controlled andfbetter distributed byproviding' adjustable: vanas: 36. in; the entra' Ve portion. otpassageway' 14.-;

It is. apparent, that. while the novel heat exchanger described abonegives gpodresults aznd is desirable as: an exchanger forl usey in yarefrigerator' systemto cool mi):A circulated; thru astorage-comparinnentor. chambenit. is.n alsoy capabla of Y use` withother. apparatus; orY systems; where it isY desired. to secureintimate:contact between gas and liquid. For example-it. can

where chemical. actiomis. efectedbetwecn gas and., liquids orto-secure.- a transiiarlcf. heatr from a gasto-a liquid,ratherjthan theconverseftransfen as in a rofigerataine: System; or can. be employed:for condensing;l vaporfrom: gasepus Inl Fig. 5-we have indicateda systemutilizing4 heat. exchange apparatuurt suchv asf described above intasystemxfonheatingyain'onother gas. In .this case: the heat exchange:apparatus is represented diagrammaticaliy at.. 38, andv forms a.passageway( 38 thruwhich, the air: on gas is caused to flow. Liquidsuppliedl tolthegheatzexf changer is caused` to; flowv thru ay suitableheater 41, andf is: delivered-by.- pump1g42-z tof-the heat; ex-

, changer' Sil-thru pipef; `Eromthe heat.. ex-

change apparatus theliquidvcam be returned to the heater thmr pipo. 44.

.AJ system ofthe;firmer.illustratedA in.: Figc. 5 can be. advantageouslyemployed for-tho purpose of .heatingl airy tofbe suppliedato.noomsorbuildings.

In. this connectionv we preferto, circulate a; liquid of. such-l. a,natura that. it: will; serveto.` automatically condition. the airhaatedby passage; thru passageway39.. Thusfwe-earrcirculate a:chemicahsolution. suchas aasolution oi-calcium chloridein water.. Sucha. solution hasthecharac.-

teristic of. absorbing moisture.from-t ain in1contact with; the sameiii-fthe event that the air is saturated, with. moisture; or rifvthe-.air is,v relatively dry, a certain amount. ot moisture.will-. beimparted to it by the chemical solution..A Thus in the, system. of Fig.5. if; chemicalA solutionI havingY suitable characteristics lillo-rcalcium chloride is employedtheair c ausedtaflow thru passageway 39.i`s-not only heated. to. a desired temperature,

but theair wllalsobe conditionedas tohumidity and the humiditymaintained within certain predetermined limits without the use of anadditional humidity control. Y

In place of utilizing a single heat exchange unit of the typeillustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusiye, we can utilize a.v plurality ofsuch units for. securing greater capacity. When.v a plurality of unitsare employed it is possible to control the fl'ow of'liquid in such amanner as to control the amount of heat imparted to the gas or air, orto control the temperature of the gas or air treated. Thus as shown inFig. 6 we have shown two heat exchange units 46. and 47, which arearranged to.eiiect .anexchange of heat with respect to air or:v other.gas owfing thru passageway 48. Pipe 49, serves to conduct liquid to unit46, and pump 51 serves to introduce liquid into this pipe from heater'or cooler' 52;l Pipes 53 and 54 serve t0 retunnliquid from unit 46 backto the heater or cooler 52. By means of branch pipe 55, liquid canalso.bey diverted' frornpipe 49 tothe unit 47,

and pipe, 56 can: serveV to return'liquid from unit fample valves 57and:V 58 are shown in pipe 49,

.andi valve59 in branch: pipe 55. Branch pipe 61 serves to' connect'someY point between valve 59 and unit 47 with -a pointzbetween pipes 54and 5m Pipe 61V isi controlled by valve,Y 62, and pipe 514i by valve63". v

Assuming that liquid is being: circulated' and thatit is being cooled bydevice 52, by opening valves57, 58, 59? and: 63, whilevalve 62is.closed, the cold liquid will ilow in two parallel paths thru units 46andf47, so that-bothunits aremain.- tained at; substantially the same;temperature. Assuming now. that it is desired tov decrease the capacityofthe system, valve 5.8 can be closed so thatthe air passing thrupassageway 48. willl be cooled'f only by unit 47; Another alternative istoi open valves4 57, 581 and." 62, and close valves 59E'and 63a Inthscase thea liquid" will be circulated thru thei units 46r and 4T inlseries, so that unit 46 will be maintained at the lowest temperature andunit 47 at a. somewhat higher temperature. Air-flowing ilrst` thru unit47y and then thru unit 46 willl therefore be efficient-ly cooledlinstages by contacting successively with Yliquid at successively lowertemperatures.

duits- *ory passages 76 andf 77, which are` shown providedwithsuitablevalves 78 and'79. Passageway 76=isshown incommunicationrwith conduits 81and 82, and'lpassageway 77 in communication with conduits 83' and 84".These conduits are shown controlled byvsuitable valves: 86, 87, 88

and/89. l

Assuming that the arrangement'. of" Fig. 7 is -being employed in arefrigerating. system and thatcold brine is being supplied' to units 71and 72;,valves 86, 78, 7.9'and184 can be opened, and air: to becontacted with the cold brine intro- .ducedthru. conduit 81 and. removedthru; conduit Vpassages 73 and 74 are connected by header conf 'Mui 84.Thus air will ow thru both of the units 71 and 74 in parallel. If theair is to be cooled to a lesser degree, valve 79 can be closed so thatthe air is only passed thru unit 71. As indicated in Fig. 8, by openingvalves 86, 79, and 87, while valves 78, 88,Y and 89 are closed, air canbe introduced thru conduit 81 and removed thru conduit 82. In itspassageair will then ilow rst thru unit 72, and thereafter thru unit 7l.Such an arrangement may make for better efiiciency, particularly wherethe brine introduced into unit 71 is at a lower temperature than thebrine introduced into unit 72.

We claim:

1. In apparatus of the character described, a plurality of spacedparallel liquid delivery pipes arranged in a substantially horizontalposition, a strip of cloth draped over said pipes to provide dependingloops below said pipes, a plurality of spaced members parallel to saidpipes, each member being disposed below a corresponding pipe, the edgesof each of said members being in contact with adjacent portions of thecloth, and means for normally tensioning the depending cloth loops.

2. In apparatus of the character described, a substantially horizontalliquid delivery pipe, a substantially horizontal member disposed belowsaid pipe whereby liquid from the pipes is delivered to the uppersurface of the same, and a strip of cloth draped over the pipe andcontacting with the edges of said member, said cloth thereby forming twosheets depending from the edges of said member. i

3, In an apparatus of the character described, depending sheets ofmaterial capable of being saturated by a liquid, means for supportingsaid sheets in spaced relationship, means for supplying liquid betweensaid sheets, and a member below said liquid supply means and having itsside edges in contact with said sheets, whereby a head of liquid isformed on the upper surface of said member by liquid distributed thereonfrom said supply means, said head being in contact with said sheets tosaturate the same.

4. In an apparatus ofthe character described, depending sheets ofmaterial capable of being saturated by a liquid, means for supportingsaid sheets in spaced relationship, means for supplying liquid betweensaid sheets, a member below said liquid supply means and having its sideedges in contact with said sheets, whereby a head of liquid is formed onthe upper surface of said member by liquid distributed thereon from saidsupply means, said head being in contact with said sheets to saturatethe same, and means adjacent the ends of said member forming a troughwith said sheets to maintain the head.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, depending sheets ofmaterial capable of being saturated by a liquid, means for tensioningand supporting said sheets in spaced relationship, means for supplyingliquid between said sheets and adjacent the upper portions thereof, amember adjacent the upper portions of said sheets and below said liquidsupply means, said member having its side edges in contact with saidsheets whereby a head of liquid is formed on the upper surface of saidmember by liquid distributed thereon from said, supply means and saidhead being in contact with said sheets to saturate the same, and meansadjacent the ends of said member forming a trough with said sheets tomaintain the head:

6. In an apparatus of the character described, depending sheets ofmaterial capable of being saturated by a liquid, means for supportingsaid sheets in spaced relationship, a member having its edges in contactwith said sheets, and means for distributing liquid upon saidmember,'whereby a head of liquid is formed upon the upper surface ofsaid member, said head being conned by and in contact with said sheetsfor a substantial distance above the level of said upper surface .tosaturate said sheets.

7. In an apparatus of the character described, depending sheets ofmaterial capable of being saturated by a liquid, means for tensioningand supporting said sheets in spaced relationship, a member having itsedges in contact with said sheets, means for distributing liquid uponsaid member, and means adjacent the ends of said member forming a troughtogether with said sheets, to maintain a head of liquid upon the uppersurface of said member to saturate said sheets.

PAUL A. SCHERER.

Aso

